What Could've Been Tremma and Then Some
by IAmForReal
Summary: What goes on with Troy and Emma when they're not fighting? What about the moments when no one's looking? Undeniable feelings, indeed! Take a tour through the eyes of Tremma as a simple, but whimsical love story unwinds.
1. She's Just a Girl

_I don't own Power Rangers. I merely own my ideas and stories._

_Note: This has probably a lot of notes. This is a Tremma Drabble (kind of) series. I'm taking each episode and adding more moments with Troy and Emma. There are also drabbles where I will be replacing some scenes to make it a Tremma scene (For example, a Troy and Gia scene could become a Troy and Emma scene). Each chapter will be all the drabbles for one episode only, unless I say otherwise._

_There will probably be a bunch of other little chapters I put in from my own thought. They won't exactly go with the episodes, but oh well. Gotta let the writing flow!_

_I would like to give a special thanks to StarSlinglerSnitch for giving me the idea (and then DreamGirl14 for actually making the idea so that StarSlinglerSnitch could tell me). I'm brand new too, and I will only blossom into more ideas like this. So thanks so much!_

_You might want to check out my other (and first) story "You're Amazing, Troy Burrows" to get a little info on what I filled in for Troy's background. Troy's past will be mentioned, and I'm sorry but there may be days where I don't want to explain it all over again._

_Well I guess that wasn't many notes...or maybe it was...enjoy the fanfic!_

_StarSlinglerSnitch, here's your story!_

_~X~_

"Hey, wait up!"

Coming out of Mr. Burley's class, Troy's head perked up as he heard jogging footsteps behind him. Looking both ways, he found himself facing one of his classmates, one of the prettier ones (he believed his own opinion). She was pushing the waves of brown hair off of her shoulders and Troy noted her very light, pink, and floral fashion.

"You're Troy right?" she asked.

"That's me." he answered.

"I'm Emma!" she said. She held her hand out. "Part of the Harwood County High Welcoming Committee."

"How official."

Troy shook Emma's hand as she laughed, a soft, cheery whisper coming from her mouth. He couldn't help but notice the light in her eyes, the rosiness of her cheeks, the friendliness of her tone. It all surprised, and impressed, him at once.

"Well, I just wanted to say hi. Hope you get around this school well enough."

"And if I get lost, which I most likely will, can I yell for you?"

Emma giggled. "Of course you can."

Troy grinned, and then realized that someone had voluntarily been talking to him (in a good way!). It came as a slight shock to him. Not many people had ever been willing to talk to him. To Troy's dismay, it created a small pit in his stomach, one that lingered for years. He was always the one to be picked on. It never left.

"So are you fitting into the neighborhood alright?" Emma asked him. Troy turned to her and furrowed his brows.

"Wait, what?"

"You just moved here right?"

"Am I that obvious?" Troy smiled sheepishly. But he thanked his mom for moving them. He was now able to talk to someone, moreover a _girl_.

"It's alright. It gives us more opportunities to connect and get new friends." Emma assured. And Troy was sure he could feel his mouth slightly gaping. Such a small thing triggered such a big emotion. Never in his life had he been to a school that had been this willing, this friendly…

Or maybe that was just the girl.

"Really?"

"Of course. Why?"

"It wasn't really like that in my old school. The best thing was: you stay quiet, you stay out of trouble. I wasn't really one of the bad kids. But I couldn't tolerate them either."

Emma nodded. "I can tell. You were pretty quiet in class."

Troy shrugged. "Expect that a lot."

Emma giggled and nodded again. And then the bell rang, and Troy had jumped. He was in too much of a muse to ever focus again.

"Well I'll see you later than. Catch me if you need anything, Troy." Emma said. As Troy stuttered out an answer, Emma hopped off in the other direction. Troy couldn't help but watch her skip down that hallways, a camera swinging lazily around her neck.

"Yeah, see you later!" he called after she was a good distance away from him. He sighed.

_What an impression_, he thought. He only hoped it was all genuine. He wouldn't be played. He was already played too much. He was no man to be taken advantage of, and if he ever was, he'd gag himself.

But he pushed that all away, and made room for Emma to enter his mind. How lovely was she? That was the happiest he'd ever seen someone. And the way Emma's eyes lit up with every word she spoke, it made Troy light up inside. He guessed that this was the feeling of a new start. Of course, he was apprehensive. He never had a friend. He never talked to someone unless he was telling them to leave him alone. They always refused. And it killed his conscience.

But Emma was different. She was bright. She was beautiful. And Troy wondered if in this new world, he could have someone like that to hold, to cherish. He had finally found the hope that he might just one day.

She was just a girl. But she already seemed so special.

~X~

"Nice!"

Emma hummed with content as she gave Gia a wink from behind the cars. She had just taken down another one of the Loogies, particularly this one with a camera. She had felt pretty proud of herself, even though most of it had come out of nowhere. She surprised even herself. And here she was, slightly guarding herself behind a car, but ready to attack.

She watched Troy, strong, quiet Troy, kick down another one of the monsters, using fists and car doors to slam them to the ground. He was impressive, she already knew. But there was so much more to him. She was eager to learn. Because she observed that he could hold up a spectacular fight.

She was so lost in Troy's battle that she couldn't see the Loogie beside her, at the front of the war, aiming it's bowgun at her. She was too dazed by the new guy.

Troy kicked down the last Loogie of his, and his senses picked up as he heard cracks and pondering footsteps right behind him. He whipped around, only to come facing Emma and another Loogie, one she wasn't aware of. And his instincts picked up.

"Emma, look out!" he cried as he leapt over a car.

Emma came back to reality and saw Troy launching himself at her. Confused as she was, she noticed the small green monster and the small blast of light shot at her. Eyes wide, she backed up, but was toppled to the ground as soon as she did. The beam of light flew right above her.

As she moved her tasseled hair out of her face, the weight on top of her was risen up. Shadowing her was Troy, right above her, and his arms were bound tightly around her petite body. In awe, she stared at him.

And there they stayed, Emma fallen into his deep green eyes, and Troy gazing into her soft brown ones. Only quiet breaths were taken. It was only them in their own worlds.

"Guys!" Jake called from a far distance.

Emma blinked herself out of it, as did Troy, and sighed in relief. He had saved her. Troy stuttered out a response again as he stood up above her. Emma sat up as Troy held out his hand. She grasped it and he pulled her up.

"Safe to say that your eyes are beautiful." Troy blurted. He then took off towards the others and began fighting again. As Emma ran towards them as well, she couldn't stop thinking about him the whole time. He was defiantly a person of many things.

If only she would figure those things out, she'd be complete.


	2. On My Way

Emma whipped out her morpher as she tucked her helmet onto her head. "Hold on Gia, I'm coming!" she called into the glowing morpher of hers. She slipped it back into her bright pink backpack and pedaled away off of the long dirt path in the forest.

~X~

Troy swung out his morpher from his sweater pocket as he heard Gia's voice tear through the open air. He could hear the yelps of Loogies and the slash of blades from all over. "On my way!" he yelled as he grasped the morpher and took off running.

~X~

Emma pushed her bike as fast as she could, snapping twigs and crushing leaves in her path. She could hear that her friends had needed help. It was a growing instinct for her, to just rush out and block all the hits they would take. Her morpher blinked and jiggled around in her backpack. It made her pedal even faster.

"Emma!"

Her hand instantly went towards her backpack when she heard Gia's voice come through a morpher, muffled shouts ringing through her backpack. The ground began getting steeper as she quickly turned around, and made an attempt to unzip her bag.

On the other end of the forest, Troy ran against the wind, holding his morpher in one hand. He could see the end of the forest. And he also saw a dash of pink from the corner of his eye, another camera hanging as well. But he proceeded forward.

"Gia, talk clearer please!"

And he heard _that_ voice from far away, a shallow echo in the distance just loud enough for him to hear. He slowed his run, and tried to pace Emma's voice in the forest. She was close, he could feel it (he realized that he had that kind of place in his heart for her). But he was sensing so many things that he couldn't wait any more. He kept on running.

Emma was approaching the other end fast. She was still turned around, and was making an honest attempt to grab the morpher out of backpack and desperately trying to get Gia to hear her. She could hear running footsteps thundering the ground. So she biked faster, completely unaware of her obstacles.

And then the morpher suddenly flew out of her hand. Her bike lunged forward abruptly, and she was thrown off of it and was sent flying in the air.

Troy felt a weight crash on top of him.

Emma heard her bike topple onto the ground behind her as she fell to the ground. She swung her long strands of brown hair out of her face, and realized that she didn't fall on the ground, but someone.

"Troy?"

"You're actually pretty heavy." Troy muttered as he propped himself up on his elbow. He coughed and removed the leaves from his hood.

Emma rested her forearms on his chest and laughed. Troy ended up laughing along with her. Emma blinked when she realized her position. But once again, she was caught up in the gleam of his eyes, the smooth ocean of clear green. And Troy stared right back, the mist of her brown eyes elapsing into his.

He had been right. He was so sure she was special. And he barely knew her.

"You always, uh, have the essence to save me, huh?" Emma stammered out.

"I wouldn't call it an _essence_, but…" Troy chuckled. "But I see that you are very aware."

"Don't even!" Emma laughed as she lightly tapped his chest. She pushed herself up off the ground and (this time) held her hand out for Troy. He grinned and clutched her hand as he was pulled up.

"I assume you were heading to the others."

"Yeah, Gia had…" Emma's face fell. Her mind raced at the speed of her bike. "My morpher! Gosei would kill me!" she cried. With that, she whipped around and ran back a few yards near her bike. Fortunately, she had found her morpher right next to her fallen bike. She hoisted her bike up on its wheels as she heard crunching leaves fade away behind her.

"Troy, do you want to…" Emma began as she spun back around. But her voice dispersed into the cool air. Troy was nowhere to be seen. Emma breathed and smiled.

"Who is this guy?" she said to herself.


	3. A Walk

Emma had been intent on having a nice walk with her best friend, her mind put off for the day, setting everything at ease.

She didn't expect to see her red ranger lounging in a tree.

Emma watched Troy from a pretty far distance. She could see the same leather jacket and red t-shirt dangling in one of the fairly tall oak trees in the town center. He just there, sitting around in the middle of the town. She found it absolutely random, but she ended up full of curiosity.

She watched him from the small circle of benches in front of one of the plazas, a mere thirty yards away from him. He was focusing on a book in front of him, not minding the public eye. People would even walk by, openly asking what he was doing up there. She saw him reply everytime with one word, and then turn back to his book.

Emma stared at him as Gia went on talking beside her. He was so quiet, and that made her have every urge to just go and break him free. Troy Burrows was indeed mysterious. There was so much about him. He wasn't like everyone else. He was different. And maybe so, he was special. Emma was just about ready to prove her own theory.

"…because I really think that Jake is just…Emma are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah. Of course." Emma replied absentmindedly. Gia rolled her eyes. Wondering over what _was_ keeping her attention intact, she followed Emma's gaze. Her eyes were soon enough set on the tree. But she squinted.

"What are we staring at?" she asked.

"Look who's in the tree."

Gia obeyed and stared closer, but not enough to decode. "Oooh, who's he?" she cooed.

Emma sat up straighter. She didn't know why, but she didn't need Gia saying things like that about _Troy_. Uncomfortable as it sounded, she remained silent for the moment. She declared herself un-jealous. And it was funny, because it was such a lie.

Instead, she chuckled a little bit and smirked. "That's Troy."

"Oh."

Emma could feel her best friend's body getting warm behind her, and when she turned around, Gia's cheeks were red like Troy's spandex and she was staring down at her lap. Seeing Gia fidgeting with her fingers, she laughed.

"Ha-ha!"

"Shut up Em."

Gia pouted as her best friend's attention was turned back to the ranger in the tree. "You're planning to go talk to him aren't you?" she said, raising an eyebrow and gazing to Emma's attached face.

"Exactly." she replied. Emma hopped up from the bench, and began her walk over to the tree, leaving Gia to just eagerly watch.

When she came up to the tree, she noticed Troy hadn't been reading, but writing. She heard the sketches of pencils run over the paper as she looked up. She could see how focused he was, ambitious to work as she watched him. He didn't notice her come up.

"Is this a hobby of yours?" she asked.

Troy abruptly looked up, a more frantic reaction that the rest. His eyes filled with relief when he saw who it was in front of him.

"You know, coming up in trees in the middle of town, where everyone can see you?" Emma added.

Troy smirked. "I'll let them look."

Emma nodded. "So, what? You just come out here alone?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders. "It's like meditation."

"Sounds meditative."

"Ha-ha." Troy playfully rolled his eyes. "I like coming up to places like this. Before, in all the places I lived, they were always small, less urban cities. There were always places I could hide out and just do what I want. This is pretty decent, actually."

"I see you like this town."

"Yeah." Troy said, giving her an assuring smile. Emma thought it was one of the sweetest smiles ever. "So why are you here, Emma Goodall?"

Emma pointed a thumb behind her back to the benches. "I came here with Gia. We're just taking a walk." At the thought of Gia, she couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles.

"Oh, what did I do?" Troy asked, grinning at the swift sound of her laughs.

"It turns out my best friend thinks you're cute."

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Well, when has that happened before?" he said. He didn't mind. No girl ever called him cute. But he would've preferred if that was Emma. That would've been a true accomplishment.

"She didn't know it was you from afar."

"Yep, that explains it."

"Yeah, but it was funny how she turned as red as your ranger suit!"

Troy was engulfed with the brightness of her eyes, the happy tone of her laugh. She was truly lovely. He found himself smiling at just the sound of her voice.

"So, it was a mistake. Oh well."

Emma turned around to see Gia walking over to her, smirking. "Sorry to intrude." Gia told her. She looked up at Troy, and her face blushed in embarrassment again. "Hi Troy."

"Hello best friend."

Gia's eyes went wide and she grabbed Emma by the arm. "Can we go? I think I just saw Jake turning the corner."

"Aww. Don't run away from him."

"Emma!"

"Sorry…see you later Troy."

Gia began walking forward, across the lawn of trees like Troy's, leaving just Emma and Troy in the vast open space. Both had been thinking the same thing. It was better with just them two, the comfortable silence, the natural world at their feet.

"I guess you should go." Troy said as he pointed off towards Gia. He paused as Emma's face began pondering.

"Would you like to come with us?"

"What? Me?"

Emma chuckled. "Yes, you Troy Burrows."

Troy furrowed his brows. "Nah, this is your best friend-bonding/friendship walk or whatever…"

"We can have a thousand of those. You can only have one 'first walk with Emma Goodall, ft. Gia Moran."

Troy laughed at the adorability of that one line. He looked back at Emma, her pleading eyes unfortunately convincing enough. He didn't want to invade on Emma's time. But when she was just begging…

"Sure, why not?" he replied. He hopped down from the tall tree, and Emma grinned at how he landed perfectly clean on his two feet, and he gave her a bemused smile. "Thanks."

"Of course. Anything to help a friend."

Emma tapped his chest and began walking off towards Gia, a beaming Troy sauntering behind her.


	4. Work of Art

Emma walked around the neighborhood of compact houses, a red notebook clutched against her chest.

She had found her way back to the town center, walking back home through the deep luminescent twilight. She had smiled at the tree right in the middle, and could picture a swinging Troy from it, quiet and ever so fascinating. And she found a book perched on the branch that night, a bright red notebook, labeled Troy Burrows. She would've waited till the next morning to give it to him at school, but giving it to him tonight meant that she'd see him sooner.

So she was spending her night, getting lost through the rows of houses packed tightly behind rackets of trees. Emma remembered how Noah and Jake went over to Troy's a lot. She had asked for his address. She didn't want to feel like a stalker, but she slightly let it creep in. It was _Troy_.

The address had directed her to end of the row, not much surprised. Troy had always shown himself as quite tucked in. It was the most guarded by trees, a white painted wood two story house with a sweet mahogany front porch and clear windows. She thought it was sweet. Troy didn't mind the things that didn't seem so masculine to everyone else.

So with the assertiveness that this was his house, she walked up and knocked on the door.

And sure enough, Troy opened it.

For a second, Emma lost her breath. Her face grew hot as she tried coming up with something to say. But they just blinked back to each other, obviously comfortable with each other's presence.

"Hi." Troy finally said.

Emma shook herself out and nodded back, smiling sheepishly. Then she put out her hand and placed the notebook in his view. "You left this back at town."

Troy's eyes washed over with tints of relief. "Thanks, Em."

"No problem."

Troy chuckled and looked down, and Emma did the same, smiling from ear to ear. "You have a really nice house, by the way." she commented.

Troy breathed a laugh. "Thanks. My mom and I always liked those houses that would just glow and fit with white picket fences."

"That's sweet."

Troy beamed back at Emma's smile, one that shined brighter than the moon and the porch lights. She glimmered under his porch, and he held onto his notebook tighter.

"So I'll catch you tomorrow?" Emma said. "I've kind of got to get back. I didn't bring my bike so…"

"You walked all the way here just to give me back my notebook?" Troy asked with disbelief. No one had ever done something as simple for him. It was nice, just right with the warm sky all around him.

"I just wanted to see you." Emma blurted, then instantly glued her mouth as her cheeks became red.

Troy raised his eyebrows, and his cheeks were a shade of pink just as well.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Nice drawings!"

With that, Emma swiftly skidded off his porch and disappeared out of sight for now, dissolving into the thick darkness. Her pink shorts were the only thing that had glowed.

Troy watched her until he couldn't anymore. He looked down at his notebook, not finding the fact that Emma went through his drawings intrusive at all. It was _Emma_.

And she was his own work of art.


	5. Beauty and Essence

Troy vowed that he would see Emma the next day.

The bell rang, signaling the end of his English class, and he scurried out as quickly as he could. His red notebook was pressed between his fingers, hugged against his waist, and constantly reminded himself to thank Emma for bringing him back his notebook. Or he just could talk to her today. Through the flood of students, he was hoping to spot the flower brunette with bright pink shorts easily. It was quite a while when he spotted his pink ranger sitting on the sill of the school's big, ceiling high window. Her camera was held tightly in her hands.

"I see you like my drawings." he called behind her.

Emma dropped her camera around her neck and whipped around, and laughed in relief as Troy appeared behind her. She smiled sheepishly as he came around to her.

"Sorry if that was too intrusive." she replied.

"No, no, no. It's fine." Troy reassured.

"They _were_ really nice, though."

"But anyone could draw it. It's just symbols."

"But Kanji is cool!"

"Oh, so you know it's kanji?" Troy asked her, slightly surprised. He flipped his notebook open to the first page. Emma was leaning over, her legs outstretched against the sill.

"That's the symbol for bravery." she said as she pointed. Troy looked up at her with a beaming smile. Emma blushed a little at his grin and looked down. "My mom is Japanese. She taught me just a little bit." she added.

"I see." Troy nodded. "But they're just simple symbols. It's not a work of art or anything."

"It still looks really nice. Really beautiful…"

Troy opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wanted so badly in just that moment to tell her that she was beautiful as well. But he couldn't. Not now. It was too fast.

But he couldn't wait for so long, he supposed.

And then nerves got to him.

He just handed her the notebook, and Emma obliged as she began flipping through the pages. She continued through every one, reading out each kanji symbol translation perfectly. Troy couldn't help but smile. He loved her passion, her grace. It all captured her essence, her lovely essence.

Emma could feel Troy's gaze on her, and her brown hair over her face hid her idiotic girl-crush grin and burning blush. She wouldn't fight the fact that she loved it. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. It would only be perfect with her and Troy. She looked up, and met his gaze.

She smiled brightly.

The bell rang once again, and they both jumped slightly. Emma hastily handed the notebook back to Troy as he stood up. She swung her legs back over and stood up as well.

"Wait, Em." Troy said. Emma watched as he dug through his notebook.

Troy stopped at a thicker page, marked with a pink rose. He tore it out as the students shuffled behind him.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked, taken aback just a little.

With one final glance at his paper, he smiled and handed it to Emma. Hesitantly, Emma took it from him. She didn't need to take _his_ artwork. But he seemed confident about it.

"If you like it so much, you can have that one." he told her.

"Troy, you don't need to give your art to me…"

"No, it's okay. I was going to give it to you anyway."

Emma breathed out a smile, and looked down. It was a more complex symbol, and Emma took the most time decoding it, Troy noticed.

"It's the kanji for beauty."

Emma blushed immensely as she stared intently at the lovely drawing. "Thank you." she replied. She found her way to the pink colored cherry blossoms right at the bottom.

"No problem."

Emma looked up to meet his eyes again, but when she turned, he was already walking down the hall, sneaking a glance at her as well. She waved back as she beamed down at the paper.

The hall began dispersing as she stared at the piece of paper. She turned it over, and she had been right about something extra being on there.

Her mother had taught her one thing to write in kanji, and she would never forget it. It was her name. And the same symbols had been on the back of Troy's paper, lined with more pink cherry blossoms. Her name was symbolized at the bottom.

And right above it was Troy's name in symbols, engulfed with drawn flames.

And then a heart right between them.

Emma knew in that moment that maybe it had been just for her.


	6. So Simply Fallen

_I'm really sorry for not updating, and I'm mad at myself for not making this longer._

_I know, this one is short and maybe not as good, but I still got it up, and it'll feed into another chapter._

_NOTE: This is kind of important. This chapter is still during _Going Viral, _but it takes place before Chapter 4, when Troy pulls Emma up from getting attacked by the Loogies. I'm really sorry for the confusion this may bring. But please take it!_

_GOING VIRAL!_

_~X~_

"Emma, come on!" Gia cried.

Behind her helmet, Emma was breathing hard as she ran to the tall green trash bin, where Troy and Gia were waving her over. Armies of Loogies were hot on her tail, whipping their blades around and pounding pavement with angst as she kept running.

"Emma, there are too many of them. Come up here!" Troy called out to her.

She was at the foot of the structure when Troy got down on his knees above and let down his arm. She could feel all shots and eyes on her as the mutants crowded her space. She pulled up all of her gravity, jumped, and grabbed Troy's hand for her life.

But as Troy pulled her up, the Loogies had been quick enough. One of them clutched onto her leg, and her weight was pulled down and Troy's arm was tugged with her.

"Em, hold on." Gia said, leaning over.

Emma yelled her first instinct. "Troy, let go! You're gonna fall!"

"If I let go, then you're gonna fall!" Troy yelled back. He only gripped her hand tighter.

It wasn't good enough. Emma was pulled down, and she released Troy's hand as she was taken to the ground.

"Emma!"

She was backed up against the wall when a Loogie slashed at her leg. Her knee buckled and she bent down to the floor. Troy watched in two seconds at what went down. He couldn't let her go again.

So he jumped down from the bin and stood protectively in front of Emma.

"Troy, what are you doing?" Gia called worriedly from up top.

"Whatever you do, do not come down!" he replied.

It wasn't long until their enemies realized that they had to attack. They charged in the small confined space. But Troy knew he couldn't hurt them. They were people. And he promised himself that he wouldn't dare to pain them. With the right force, he began pushing them away, keeping Emma behind him. It wasn't the most, but much of the time, you didn't need the most. You need enough.

When space was existent, Gia let down her hand. Troy refused. He grabbed Emma's hand, and he jumped, and _flew_. Lightweight and elevating higher than the average man, he landed safely in the top surface, Emma at his side.

"Thanks." Emma breathed.

Troy nodded, and said, "I'll never let you go again."


	7. One

_Everyone...I am EXTREMELY sorry for the very long break!_

_You don't even know how sorry I am for not updating. For these past few months, I've been having a tough time emotionally. Everything just hurt a lot and I couldn't make myself do anything. I just had a big psychological strike, and I guess it had a big impact on me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull myself to write anything. It's been such a while. I am just SO SO sorry. I hope you can forgive me._

_But here's a treat for the summer. I told myself that I wouldn't update until I had a lot to give, so here's a lot to read for you all. My way of apologizing. I am truly sorry. But I have come back into anyway possible, and I will try to keep updating as much as I can. So I hope you like what I've brought for you guys. Thank you all :)._

_I don't own anything, just my plot, ideas, etc.. I use script from the show, and I don't own that. That is fully the property of Power Rangers Megaforce._

_~X~_

Emma walked into Ernie's Brain Freeze the next day with the kanji of beauty stashed in her pocket.

Her side was attached to a blue recycling bin, and she sauntered around to every table and tossed a bottle and napkin and all recyclables in. Her love for nature had never diminished just a bit. Some people found it charitable. Some people found it excessive. (Troy found it brilliant). Her passions were her passions. That was it. And in this case, she'd help the Earth at all costs.

As she went around from table to table, her leg began buckling slightly and sprints of pain shot up her leg. She drew a sharp breath and glanced down at the back of her leg. She sighed at the dark red mark running up her leg.

Scars would fade, but this was in deep. The Loogies had done their part to leave a mark on her. A blood red slash was aligned on her leg, running up to the back of her knee and bringing mildly immense pain. The cut deeply scarred had been sewn on her throughout the days. She was amazed at how everyone, even Gia, had passed by it.

When she had looked back up, she saw a familiar bound of leather, brown hair, and a red t-shirt enter into the shop. He looked all tired and distressed. It was her duty to cheer him up.

"Hey Troy!" she said.

"Hey," Troy replied without turning back. "What are you up to?"

"Just helping Ernie with some recycling." Emma replied, gesturing to her recycling bin. She paused her work and walked over to where he was sitting. "Everyone's going to be here soon."

Troy lazily nodded. He tried his best to stay up straight. But dreams were taking tolls on him, and rest was nonexistent. He was just overall confused with everything, and through with waking up each night to something he couldn't pinpoint.

But right now, he was with Emma. He wouldn't dare to ruin it.

Emma noticed his fallen face, the slight bags under his eyes, and his slouch, and furrowed her brows. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." he sighed. "I've had some rough nights lately."

Emma pouted, rested the bin on the counter and perched herself on the stool beside him. "Sorry to hear that."

"Eh…"

Emma chuckled at how he continuously attempted to straighten himself up, then let out a silent yawn. She could see right through how he was trying to be polite, telling himself to keep a good mood for the outside.

Then everything, the noise and the movement of their world, came back to both of them. A loud, overpowering voice filled the space of Ernie's Brain Freeze and a rouse of congratulatory phrases, cheers, and "Aww's" following after. Troy curiously turned around him to the line of tables near the entrance as Emma raises an eyebrow, and was surprised when a stranger had been taking center stage.

"And I hit him over the head with a toaster, and I'm like, you're toast man! You're toast…"

Troy could only blink at the sudden boast. There were not-so-swift karate hits and triumphant fists into the air, and public cheers. It was all one sight that he knew too well.

But he still sought to ask "What gives?", seeing if his pink ranger had any response. Ernie had come over with a crowding tray of smoothies just as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, that guy over there, he's saying that he's the red power ranger!" Ernie replied enthusiastically from behind them, soon coming into view when he brought out his tray to the table in that corner.

Troy took some time to think to himself, keeping still for a moment, then stifling a soft laugh. He turned his head towards the scene, very skeptically.

The morpher in his jacket pocket proved his skepticism to be alright.

Emma, too, had a laugh inside of her. Her face sent a small smile with grinning pursed lips and disbelief. She couldn't help but look at her red ranger, who wore his face of sheer amusement at that moment. But her eyes peeled over back to the broad teen chanting as a power ranger. Or else she would've been guilty of staring.

_I wasn't staring…I don't stare…_

"Really?" Troy chuckled as he arched an eyebrow.

"I rebound off the wall, let loose with a flying roundhouse kick…and BOOM! Down go the monsters…"

Troy held a plastered grin on his face. Emma immediately looked towards him for his reaction, and he still had his unconvinced eyebrow raised into the situation when he looked back. Emma seemed like she'd go along with whatever he said. She had no response herself.

"Well then, looks like someone's trying to take your spot." Emma breathed.

"Mmm-hmm." he mumbled.

Emma fake-pouted. "Well go up there and stop him, red ranger." she playfully whispered fiercely.

"The first step to being a red ranger is to never reveal your identity as the red ranger."

"True…"

"And anyway, why don't you go then?" Troy said nodding to the "red ranger".

"I can't bring myself to that." Emma replied shaking her head.

Troy shrugged his shoulders, then sat up a little straighter. "Well how about you bring him in then. Show him what it's like to be a real red ranger, battling monsters and making drama and saving children and all that!" he said, his voice slightly slow and dramatic.

Emma gave a laugh and shook her head again. "No way. I'd prefer my team just the way we are." she told him.

"Even with me?"

"Yes with you, Troy Burrows. There's only one red ranger in my eyes."

And Troy took that moment to pause. He could see a pink tint creeping onto Emma's cheek, and a blushing smile tug at her lips. He couldn't help but begin to smile. _One red ranger in her eyes_, he thought. That was him, and that meant only him.

Only him.

The atmosphere was soft and sweet, as Troy and Emma locked eyes and smiled at each other. The air felt warm and simple around them together. There couldn't have been any burden to bring them down. They were lightweight. They couldn't hear anything else around them, but the steady beat of each other's hearts.

Troy reached for Emma's hand, which was resting on the table, and gently took it in his.

Emma looked down, and saw her small hand intertwined with his. Raising her head in surprise and joy, she met his bright eyes again with a small smile.

"Thanks." Troy said lightly.

Emma immediately nodded and mumbled "Yeah" back to him with a school-girl grin.

"And you know what I call that move? A typical Tuesday!"

Emma and Troy were both broken out of there quiet muse by the thunders of applause behind them, to see that the boy was still going on. Absentmindedly, they both released their hands at once and Emma returned to her recycling bin.

She walked over to the other side of him with her recycling bin. "Wow. Can you believe that faker?" she said, nodding towards the power ranger in the center. Emma leaned closer to Troy as she spoke in a lower voice. "You gonna do anything about it?"

Troy raised his eyebrows as he turned back to a statement the teen was making.

"If you're brave enough, monster fighting is a breeze."

Troy broke out into another skeptical grin and stood up. "Yeah. I'm gonna go take these to the recycling bin." he told her as he took the small bin from her arms and proceeded to walk outside, hearing Emma call a "Thanks!" on the way out. As he fell out of the Brain Freeze's vicinity, he heard her yell after him.

"Wait, but the others are gonna be here…"


	8. Atmospheric

After the battle, Troy had decided that he needed to be away a while. He had left his team soon after leaving their megazord, but couldn't go home just yet. He needed some time with himself.

So he was walking through the evening streets of Harwood County. He was thankful that during the later day, everything would fall in peace. The sun was just high enough to let the sky reach its glowing blue, orange, and pink draping overhead.

Despite how isolated he really was, he had never got some real time with himself, where it was just him and the atmosphere. It had only been a month since he moved into Harwood County, and had only been four weeks since he became a ranger. Since then, his time had been occupied with fighting monsters. But fortunately, victory was bliss.

It had been a while since he'd felt this good.

"Hey Troy!"

He immediately slowed down his walk when the familiar voice called down the path and the light patter of leather boots down the sidewalk. In the blink of an eye, he was facing his pink ranger.

"Hey Emma."

Emma smiled. "Hey. I just saw you were walking towards the town center, and I need to head down to Ernie's again, so I was just wondering if I could walk with you." she babbled. Though her face fell soon after, and she said "Unless I'm interrupting. I mean if you do need quiet time, I can just-"

"Emma, it's completely fine." Troy assured. He smiled and said "I wouldn't mind some company." He gestured her to walk beside her, and with a nod of her head, they were walking side by side. "So if you don't mind me by asking, why are you going to Ernie's?"

"I don't mind at all." Emma replied. "I'm going to help Ernie with some more recycling."

Troy stood dazed. She was going back _again_ to help with some recycling. "Now that's amazing." he spoke. "I've never met someone who's so committed."

"I guess there's a first time for everything." she said with an accomplished smile, and a small blush. "So, uh, good job today…"

"Me?" Troy asked unconvinced. "I fell asleep in the megazord."

"So?"

"So I fell asleep in the megazord!"

Emma shrugged her shoulders casually. "You can't blame anything. You did go off battling Creepox. And that was amazing."

"Yeah, yeah..." Troy said shrugging his shoulders as well as the town center came into view.

"Really. You're a greater red ranger then you think."

In the light of the moment, Troy raised his eyebrows. "Now, who said I didn't think I was a good red ranger?" he said.

Emma hit him on the arm playfully. "Do not get cocky!"

Troy spun around to an abrupt stop, face to face with Emma, their bodies only inches apart. "Or what?"

Emma stepped back a bit. In Troy's view, she was ready for an attack. She sent him a vicious smirk.

"Do you want to see this side of me?"

Troy shrugged slightly. "Well, if I can see your side, you can see mine." he said. And he was beaming. No one ever believed him to have a lighter side yet. He himself believed that being firm was a way to be in control. But he didn't want his friends to think that this was all he was. It was only a few weeks. He's got a lot to show, he thought.

Emma was trying to keep a growling face, while Troy on the other hand was grinning like a little kid. But too much silence was for distractions, and Troy could feel that something was coming to attack him.

Gosei did choose her to be a power ranger. And that meant that this one was tough.

"You've challenged me, Troy Burrows." Emma growled playfully.

Troy flashed a quick smile, then took off running. And it had been a good choice, because he could hear Emma dashing behind him.

"What _are_ you going to do, Emma?" he called behind him.

"First I have to see if I'll catch you!" she called back to him with a huff of him.

"Well that's good for me, because you'll never catch me! EVER!"

"Since when are you this cocky?"

"All bottled up inside of me for good measure!"

"Good measure…" Emma scoffed.

Troy whipped around, so he could run backwards and still look at the "vicious" face of his pink ranger. His feet dragging the wrong way on the pavement, he sucked in small bits of air and thrill. "I'm still faster than you backwards, pinky."

"Don't call me pinky!"

"Okay pinky."

"Oh my god, Troy. You've gotten annoying in a span of three hours!"

Troy fake gasped, and placed a hand over his heart dramatically. "_Moi_?"

"_Ya_."

"Awful rhyme, Emma Goodall."

Emma let out a big breath. "You talk a lot for someone who's running away from me!" she yelled.

"The perks of being the fast one." Troy replied. He could see Emma speeding up toward him with huffed breaths. As fake as it was, he was annoying her. There was a short distance between them, but he was winning. And he was having a good time, on this pointless chase. He couldn't help but bring out a laugh, and grinned when he heard Emma laughing along with him.

They laughed their way down to the town center.

~X~

It was a tie by the time they made it outside of Ernie's, laughing and inhaled hard.

"On the bright side, we did make it faster." Troy said.

"Shut up." Emma breathed. But she broke out into a huge smile. "It's your fault for running."

"It was a good run."

"Yeah. Did you lose any pounds yet?" she said. She tapped his stomach with a giggle and walked into Ernie's.

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Are you calling me fat?"

He tailed Emma and walked in with her. She walked over to the side of the room next to the small seating bar and grabbed a blue recycling bin. Troy couldn't help but smile. Emma was one of the most dedicated people he'd seen. He was far more than impressed. It was another little thing he loved about her.

"I want to call you a chicken. You _did_ run away from me." she answered him as she began on a table, throwing some plastic bottles into the bin. "And for being a chicken, you get to help me recycle…in ten minutes."

"Fine then." Troy answered as he took a seat on the bar chair. But nevertheless, he wouldn't mind helping Emma out at all. As she went from table to table, he rested his arms on the counter.

"How do you like town so far?"

Troy looked up and saw Ernie walking over to him with a big, welcoming smile. He politely smiled back and sat up straight as he walked over with a cloth and began dabbing the counter in front of him.

"It's actually pretty good so far. Thanks Ernie." he replied.

"Find anything special?"

In that moment, Troy glanced over his shoulder not-so casually, right to the beautiful brunette helping to protect the environment. As she bustled around to pick up as much as she could, Troy fell into a pondering silence as he smiled on.

But he turned back to Ernie quickly and as casually as he could. "Yeah. I think I've found a lot." he replied. And he was pretty sure that Ernie saw him staring, for the owner gave him a sly wink, and Troy began blushing pink.

"So what can I get you?"

"A protein-shake please."

"Coming right up."

While Ernie went behind the counter to fix up his order, he suddenly heard a rouse of applause coming from behind him. He glanced behind him, and as a horde of people began crowding the front of the store, he could still see Jordan in the middle. He had his hands in his pockets and was shuffling around nervously. And everything from earlier came back to him as his order was exchanged for his money.

He turned back around. He didn't want to see anything, but would rather hear it instead.

"Everybody…this is really hard for me, but…I am not actually a Power Ranger."

Then Troy heard laughs ring out among the area, and Jordan let them come to a halt as he went on.

"No, seriously. The Power Rangers are true heroes, and they're great people too! They were super nice to me even after I…lied. Guess I just wanted the attention. Anyways, I am sorry, really sorry, and I hope you can forgive me."

A chorus of disappointed groans and distraught calls came from his audience, and Troy could hear everyone slowly scuttling out of the Brain Freeze. It was almost as if he could feel the disgusted looks being shot as Jordan right now. He stared at the counter blankly as all the noise died down. It soon fell silent, and it was only him, Jordan, Emma, and Ernie in the store.

He heard slow, somber footsteps approach behind him, and watched from the corner of his eye as Jordan took a seat right next to him. He looked up, and straight towards Jordan, now a brave, stronger civilian of his own.

"Took a lot of courage to do that."

Jordan looked up at him. "Huh?" he asked.

Troy went on. "I bet the real rangers would be proud of you." he said to him.

Jordan smiled a bit. "Thanks. That means a lot." he replied. Troy watched as Jordan seemed to eye him suspiciously, and tried to recognize him through his eyes. "Hey, have we met before?" he asked Troy.

"Oh, I don't think so. I'm Troy."

"Jordan."

Troy put out his hand to shake, which Jordan gladly took, and they both went back to resting their arms on the counter.

"Well, actually a new Jordan." he added. "Because I learned a big lesson about myself today. Thanks to the red ranger."

Troy just looked down and grinned.

"He's a great guy, you know?"

Troy and Jordan both looked up to the voice, and Troy smiled when he saw Emma leaning against the counter. Emma grinned as she set the recycling bin down and took a seat to explain to Jordan.

"The red ranger. He's a really great guy. He helps everyone, and that's a natural effect. And he's polite, respectful, devoted, kind. He's the kind of red ranger you'd want protecting our world. Someone with a big heart to really care about the people in it. He's someone who can change people, maybe even change the world."

"I can imagine. He defiantly changed me." Jordan mused. Emma nodded in agreement. "He should know that he's a great person."

"You know, sometimes I wonder if he does know."

At that point, Troy looked to Emma. She was beaming. Had she meant everything she said? She couldn't have thought that. It wasn't true. But Troy had heard it with true sincerity. It sounded real to him, as surreal as it was. No one ever had said anything like that about him, ever. Hearing all this about him was all too real. Hearing it from people he wanted to impress made it all the more special.

Some people were stronger in the suit. Some people were bolder. For him, he was the same with or without the ranger job. If that was who he was as a red ranger, it could've been him.

Troy glanced at Jordan, and then Emma.

"You know, I think he does."


	9. Lone Soldiers on Your Doorstep

SORRY, SORRY, SORRY! Here's a long chapter for you all :).

* * *

Troy hesitated to knock on the hardwood door in front of him.

It was the evening after Gia and Emma's break up, make up phase as Jake had called it. And for a reason he couldn't pinpoint, he had just gone to check up on his pink ranger. Noah had groaned about how his best friend was planning on dragging him to go see Gia, and Troy had thought that Emma would appreciate someone doing the same for her. Emma had unexpectedly shown up at his house once. It had seemed at the very most casual, as if she'd been doing it for years. He expected it to feel the same for him. But it was anything but casual.

His hand raised and put itself down over and over again as he remained frozen against the door. He kept staring up at the tall house, as he realized that Emma was more high-class then he thought. He thought of it first when he entered the neighborhood, a small enclosed area made up of big houses. Everything was so grand in this part of town that it drew Troy back a little bit. It took noticing the little things, like the wide plains of grass and a marble fountain, that Emma had been more above status.

Her house had been like a mansion to him. It was about three times the size of his own house, and twice the size of the average houses around Harwood. Compared to where Emma resided, his house seemed like a shack, his simple two story house with the small picket fence. Her house was what he used to call a "rich people house". Painted crisp white and lined up seemingly perfectly, it had towered over him with spotless glass windows giving him a reflection, tall colonial columns, marble everywhere, and a double door channeling his demons.

He had to admit, that it intimidated him a bit. He had never lived in places with houses so big.

But Emma, sweet, down to Earth Emma, was beyond that double door somehow.

So he raised his hand and knocked on the door.

He let out a huff of air as he heard footsteps patting on the floor that was on the other side. He drew in his air as the door opened, and inside his head he fidgeted with apprehension because it hadn't been Emma that opened the door for him. It was a taller woman, dressed a bit more formally, and broader than Emma was. But she distantly had Emma's complexion, and instantly could remind him of Emma.

Upon realizing that it wasn't Emma, he fell into a deep silence of thinking of what to say in that moment. But the woman had spoken instead.

"The doorbell isn't working, sir?" she said.

Troy gaped a bit, then looked over to the frame of the door noticing the small cream doorbell. He fought the urge to smack himself as he sent a nervous, awkward smile to the woman.

"I'm sorry…I, didn't see that, ma'am." he spurted out. He then took a deep breath, and began explaining himself. "I'm Troy. I'm a friend of Emma's."

"Okay…" she said skeptically.

"Uh…she said I could come over later. I kind of wanted to check up on her." Troy added.

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Why would my sister need to be checked up on?"

_Sister…_

"Gia and Emma had a little fight today." Troy quickly covered up. "They made up quickly, but I still thought it would be nice to check up on Emma for the day."

Emma's sister sent him a small suspicious squint, but stepped back to give him room. "I'll buy it for now." she said as she gestured him to step inside. He hesitated, but responded by following through and stepping into her house.

"I'm Christina, Emma's older sister." she said as she shut the door behind him.

"Nice to meet you." he replied politely as he gazed around the foyer of their home. It lit him in awe, with two grand staircases leading to the same balcony corridor above him, a widespread entrance to the rest of the house welcoming him in the front, and everything high and mighty than he'd ever seen.

"You haven't seen a house this big, have you?"

Troy absentmindedly shook his head as he stared at the glass tear chandelier dangling overhead.

Christine chuckled. "Well, Emma's on the left hall, third door in." she told him. "You'll figure it out once you see all the pink on the door."

Troy let out a light laugh. "Thank you." he said before heading up the left staircase that arched up to the canopy like second floor. It was a long, wide flight of stairs before he reached the top and began filing himself down the left corridor. And Christine had been right. He found himself in front of a door with pink embellishments and accents, and a silver place with _E. G._ engraved for Emma's name. The door had also been covered halfway in photographs of everything: the woods, town, Emma and Gia, and the rest of them. He could even see a picture of their team right in the middle.

Cracking a smile, he knocked on the door lightly. A faint, but audible "Come in" came from the other side of the door, and he let himself in.

Emma had been uploading photos to her computer when she saw Troy step in. She broke out into a big grin as she set her computer down beside her.

"Troy!" she beamed.

"So your house is huge, but why is your room smaller than it should be?" he said.

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but I like it." she replied with a grin. She patted the space on the other end of her bed for him to sit as she scooted over.

Troy began walking over, and then reached over to the side of his bag, and by the time he was over next to her, he had pulled out something for Emma.

Emma tilted her head as he handed a roll towards her. Curious, she took it into her own hands, and soon realized that it had been a roll of bandage. Sheepish, she looked back up to him.

"You didn't think you'd get away with that cut forever, did you?"

Emma opened her mouth for a response, but just released a sigh. "I didn't think anyone noticed."

"Well I did. I was there." Troy said as he took a seat on her bed.

Emma giggled and set the bandages on the table beside her. "Fine. I'll take care of that later." she assured him. She brought her knees up to her chest and leaned against her headboard. "So what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to check up on you…after today."

She grabbed a pillow that was lying next to her and hugged it against her chest. It was one she had promised herself to buy when she went to Target, and was all the more successful. It was a Pink Megaforce Ranger pillow. She had one of every color of her team, scattered as pillows for her to sleep with.

"Really?" she said, burying her face into the top of the pillow.

"Yeah." he replied. "Well, Jake took Noah to go check up on Gia."

And in that second, Emma couldn't help but frown.

"Is that the only reason you though to come?" she snapped lowly, but ending up loud enough for him to hear.

_Of course I made it seem like that_, Troy thought to himself as he cursed in his head. No way would he want to offend Emma. No way would he want to hurt her like that, if indeed he did hurt her…

"No…I…still wanted to, uh…no…Emma, I…"

Emma buried her face in her pillow, but let out a groan. "I'm sorry." she blurted as quick as she could. She raised her face to meet his, and sighed. "I didn't mean to snap! I'm…" her voice faded as she tried to find something to say.

But Troy was looking at her with full sincerity and consideration, and she thought she might have had to lunge just to wrap her arms around him and fall into his embrace. There was that small thing in his soft green eyes that spoke to her. Something that told her two things: that either everything was okay, or that she had screwed up again.

Troy blinked, then reached over beside her. Emma watched as she grabbed the Red Megaforce Pillow sitting next to her, made sure it was facing her, and gripped it in his hands.

"What's wrong, Emma Goodall?" he said in a slightly higher voice to personify her pillow.

Emma cracked a smile, and took her own pillow to face him. Speaking in a normal voice, she told him, "I'm not…" when her voice had faded again.

Troy set the pillow down next to him and looked back at her. "Emma…" he started.

"I'm not used to people doing stuff for me this much."

Emma had said it in a quiet whisper. Troy thought she sounded so much more fragile, so much more…scared. The way she buried her head in her pillow, mumbling and fighting with herself inside had been all too familiar.

And Emma had been. It was as if in that small moment, all her demons were slowly being unleashed and set out ready to attack. She never talked about personal topics with anybody but Gia, but even her best friend wasn't allowed to see what was inside of her. But when Troy was in her vicinity, it felt like she had been doing it for years. It always became so easy to talk to someone when Troy had been around.

"Would you be open enough to let me in?" he spoke gently.

Emma scooted over towards the right side of her bed, and patted the spot next to her so Troy could sit. And Troy obeyed and went over and sat next to Emma as she held her pillow close.

"When I was younger, I always thought that one day, people were going to leave me at some point. I didn't know how they'd stay, I mean…I wasn't any Gia, perfect at anything and everything. And it's worse because when I'm younger, when we're younger, you always want to be good at everything. I was that person too."

"Says who?"

"I did. But I couldn't be that person, so I just thought I wouldn't be anything that everything people expected. I didn't know how I'd be popular, I didn't know how I'd impress my parents, I didn't know anything. So I figured maybe one day I'd drive everyone away."

"Did you expect all these people to come to you? Even, at the very least, fight beside you too?"

Emma shook her head. "No." she replied looking down at her pillow. "I never expected I'd do something like this. I mean, Power Rangers are legends. I'm no legend. I never thought I'd be."

"But now you are, right?"

"I don't know…"

"I do. You're amazing, Emma."

Emma brought her knees up to her chest as she went on. "I just started doing a lot of things for myself, and that became everything. I just wanted to be prepared for when I was really alone."

"Which is never…"

"Stop interrupting, Burrows."

Troy stuck out his tongue, but let her go on.

"But I was just really independent. I rarely asked for help. I just wanted to work alone. Yeah, I'd ask for partners and help, but overall I didn't want to stress anyone for help…it seemed stupid to some, but it was all real."

Troy looked down at his hands for a moment as Emma paused. Instantly, all of that feeling came back to him…the exact same one. And he realized how alike they actually had been.

It still lasted in him now.

"You never want to waste someone's time helping you…" he said.

"You get it?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So now, when people reach out for me, I just get so frozen. When you came over, I didn't know you were actually coming just to check on me. And when you said that Jake and Noah had gone to check up on Gia, so you came…I kept thinking you came by default."

Troy nodded. "I didn't want to make it seem like that. I really did want to check up on you." he assured.

"I know." Emma smiled.

"You know, you and me…we're more similar than you think."

"Is that right?"

He nodded again, and gently raised his arm and wrapped it around Emma's shoulder. "You know, it's not so wrong to ask for help from time to time. Just know that you have an army of people that are willing to lend a hand." he said.

There was a minute of silence before Emma spoke again.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"How do you always know what to say?"

Troy laughed a little, leaning against the headboard. Comfortingly, he squeezed her shoulder. "Maybe I'm a genius…" he jokingly mused.

After a playful eye roll, Emma laughed herself and simply replied, "Thank you, Troy."

"You're welcome, Emma."

They weren't looking for anything in particular. They were sitting together in a calm silence, his arm wrapped around her and her smaller frame leaning on his body. It was warming to the heart, just a friendly moment of comfort between two.

Troy didn't want to move. He didn't want to shift. He felt fine the way it was. But he could predict that the fact that they were friends would let him create the moment into an awkward situation if he remained too long. In the end, he was just glad he could be some comfort to Emma. No one deserved to hurt.

"I think I might go. My mom's expecting to me home, so…" he said.

Emma sat up straighter and his grip on her loosened as he pushed himself off the bed. "Yeah, of course." she said.

He grabbed his bag that he laid down on the floor and slung it over his shoulder, and fell into Emma's gaze when she had scooted off the bed and stood up with him.

"I will see you tomorrow." she said with a smile.

"Yes, yes you will." he replied. Emma laughed, and they stood together for a second before Troy was about to turn away. Fumbling with her fingers nervously, Emma had stopped him swiftly enough.

"Troy…thank you."

Troy turned himself back to her. Their eyes made contact, like they always found themselves doing, and he smiled and shyly shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think I did too much, but no problem."

"You did more than you think." Emma nodded. She took a few steps closer to them and continued. "You know, it's not easy to open up to people. It was never easy for me, but maybe I'll find some and it won't be as bad as I keep thinking it will."

"You have some right at your doorstep." Troy replied with a grin. "I'm sure of it. We're always here for you."

She nodded again and breathed a smile. Troy was giving her the mutual comfort when Emma reached over and wrapped her arms around him. It was soft and kind-hearted and pure and all the things Emma was. Troy could feel Emma's genuine satisfaction bubbling within her, and pleased with himself, he heartily and gently hugged her back.

Emma admitted it to herself commonly. There was something special about Troy, something that made her feel like home. It made her think that in a world where there were a billion people that would never care about her, she had found one. And of course, she obviously had Gia, and Jake and Noah, and all her family. But this felt different, a different loving path. It felt good. She felt good.

When they pulled away, they were wearing identical expressions. They were in a small friendly chat as Emma walked Troy back down to the entrance.

"So I'll see you in school then?" Troy asked as Emma open the door for him.

"Defiantly." she answered. "I do really appreciate you coming here, Troy."

"Hey, no worries. I'm glad I could help." he replied.

Emma nodded. "See you later, Troy."

"Bye."

When Emma closed the door, it was her sister that had come out next. With two soda cans, Christina Goodall walked out of the kitchen with a big smirk directed to her sister. Emma whipped around and jumped a little when she had come into view.

"His departure was just on time." Christina told her with a pointing finger. If he was here longer, I would've suggested that you two had-"

"Christina!"

"Dating! I was going to say started dating." Christina said with a laugh at her younger sibling's shriek.

"Sure…" Emma replied with an eye roll.

Christina pointed to the door again. "Isn't that the guy from the pictures on your door, and just about everywhere else? The one in red?" she asked.

Emma sighed. She knew where her sister would be leading this. "Yes, that's him." she replied.

"So are you two…"

"No, we are not dating."

Christina raised her eyebrows, and then let out a huff of breath. "So, he arrives at our household looking for you and is looking to comfort you after a fight between you and your best friend? And then he's the same guy in your pictures? Are you sure you two aren't dating?" she inquired.

"No, we're not, sis." Emma answered with full honesty. But she quickly found the ground below her creating a diversion for her as she couldn't stop the smile creeping on her lips and the red tint shading her cheeks. But Christina noticed this quickly, and her facial expression changed.

"Do you like him?" she asked.

Emma's head shot up quickly, and she couldn't catch the sputters that were escaping her mouth. They were all small snippets of the unconvincing phrase that she had been trying to craft to assure her sister that she did not like Troy Burrows.

Oh, but one side of her had told her that was a lie.

She liked Troy.

She _liked_ Troy.

_She liked Troy._

"Em, it's okay if you do, you know?" Christina snapped her sister out of the not-so silent muse she was sending herself into.

"No, I don't. I don't like boys, boys don't like me." Emma declared for herself as she snatched a soda can from her sister's hand.

"Is that a boy or a man, Emma? Because if it's not a boy, then we have another side to think about."

Nervously, she gulped down a chug of soda before turning and speaking to her sister again. "Either way, it would be pointless." Emma said. She took a seat on the sofa before fumbling with her fingers once again, and speaking in a low whisper. "He would never like me." she said.

"So you do like him." Christina confirmed after hearing her comment.

Emma leaned against the sofa and blinked.

"I like him." she confirmed.

"And so why wouldn't he like you?" Christina jumped to as she took a seat next to her sister.

"Why would he?" she vented out. "I'm insecure, naïve. I'm pathetic, I'm weak, defenseless, I'm nowhere as pretty as someone like Gia…"

"Shut up, Emma." Christina spat. But she comfortingly wrapped her arms around her. "You be quiet. You are a beautiful, smart, dedicated, and pure woman. Of course he would like you."

Emma sucked in a breath and leaned into her sister's embrace. "I've never had a real boyfriend, you know. What if Troy's my first and I screw everything up?"

"You know he's right if he'll come back to you at all costs. I've known him for a mere fifteen minutes, but I can tell he cares about you, Emma."

Emma was silent for the next minute, but Christina knew that she had won. Emma was slowly coming into her side, and potentially Troy's.

"You like him. You like him! Emma!"

Emma jolted out of her sister's arms. "You're going to do this now? All this sister-having-a-crush stuff? I'm right, right?" she complained crossing her arms.

"Probably…you like him! What if he's the one? You like him! Like really like him, right?"

Emma rolled her eyes. But she couldn't help but admit it to her sister, the world, and herself.

"Yes, Christina. I really like him."

How good it felt feeling truth and sincerity in her…


End file.
